Determination!
As Arjun in grief said: How can I possibly be expected to fight my grandfather? In my childhood I would climb on Bhisma’s lap thinking he was my father. I am not able to gather myself to fight him
Hearing
this, Lord Krsna sternly reprimanded Arjuna for his sentimentality & once
again reminded him of his vow to kill Bhisma and thus execute his duty as a Kshatriya.
Sri Krsna also encouraged Arjuna by assuring him that Bhisma was destined to
die in this great battle
Finally,
after casting aside his grief, Arjuna said: My dear Krsna, I know that Sikhandi
is the ordained slayer of Bhisma and so I will keep the Pañcãla prince in front
of me. As I protect Sikhandi by warding off the Kaurava warriors, he can attack
Bhisma without impediment
In this
way the next day's strategy was decided upon, in accordance with Bhisma's
advice. At last, the Pandavas retired for the night
On the
tenth day, as the Pāndava army entered the battlefield, Shikhandi was kept in
the center. Bhima & Arjun protected Shikhandi on both sides while Abhimanyu
& Draupadi’s sons remained at the rear. Right from the start, Pāndavas
assaulted Kaurava soldiers with great vengeance, forcing them to turn their
backs and flee. This was intolerable for Bhisma, who flared with rage &
began consuming the Pāndava army
Shikhandi
Summoned his courage & rushed at Bhisma, piercing him in the chest with 3
arrows. This only served to further enrage the Grandsire, however. When he saw that
it was Shikhandi that had wounded him, he laughingly announced: O Prince of Pāncalas,
even if you attack me, I’ll never fight back, for I still consider you to be
the female who the creator originally fashioned
This
remark angered Shikhandi & so he replied: You wretch! Rest assured that I’ll
kill you this very day
Shikhandi
once again pierced Bhisma with his arrows. At the same time Arjun urged him on
by saying: Rush at Bhisma & kill him quickly. O Shikhandi, you can attack him
without fear, for I’ll check all the Kaurava warriors who dare oppose you. Arjun,
Bhima & Ghatotkaca proceeded to greatly afflict the Kaurava warriors &
so Duryodhana went to Bhisma and urged him to quickly kill all the great Pāndava
heroes
After
thinking for a moment about what should be done, Bhisma replied: Even though I’ve
steadily fulfilled my vow to kill 10 000 enemy warriors each day, today I
promise to complete my full obligation by either killing all the Pāndavās or
else laying down my life on the battlefield
After
this, Bhisma launched a ferocious attack on the Pāndava army. Indeed, on the 10th
day he truly fulfilled his promise to Duryodhana by slaughtering more than 200
000 foot soldiers, as well as tens of thousands of chariot warriors, cavalry
& elephants
As
Bhisma exterminated Pāndava forces, Arjun urged Shikhandi: Give up your fear
& rush at the Grandsire. While staying behind you, I’ll kill him myself
Krsna
says about determination in the mode of ignorance:
yayā
svapnaṁ bhayaṁ śokaṁ viṣādaṁ madam eva ca
na vimuñcati durmedhā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī
And
that determination which cannot go beyond dreaming, fearfulness, lamentation,
moroseness and illusion – such unintelligent determination, O son of Pṛthā, is
in the mode of darkness
Fear
always looks backward & reminds us about things that have happened to us in
the past. We dread that similar things will happen again & thus keeps us
immobilized. Our plans are then sabotaged
Let’s
look up & turn to God, seeking His guidance and strength. By doing so, we
will surely be building bright future for ourselves
Thoughts? #gameoflife
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